So the news is Marvel have set a tentative release date for the Thor sequel but the bummer that Ken Branagh won't be returning to direct. However the fact that Branagh's departure has been reported shows that Marvel are moving quickly on this so hopefully we'll have some solid news on a director soon.

I thoroughly enjoyed Thor and felt that like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk it didn't reinvent the wheel but was damn good fun and a star making turn for Chris Hemsworth, really looking forward to seeing him back in The Avengers so a sequel of his own is welcome news. However I'm hoping Marvel have learnt their lessons from Iron Man 2 and won't be rushing this one.

Nothing at all confirmed about story but no doubt it will spin off from The Avengers plotlines so will be interesting how Marvel handle it, the end of Thor (SPOILER) saw his passage to Earth destroyed yet we know he makes it back at some point to team up with the other heroes so will he back on Earth for Thor 2? Personally I hope the Earth business is marginalised this time as I much preferred the Asgard and Juttenheim business, as I posted in the main Thor thread it would be cool to explore the other realms mentioned in the film. No doubt some link to Earth will remain (will Natalie Portman return?) but now the characters have been introduced and the film has been successful I think Marvel should open up Thor's world more and give us something new.

As for potential villains I'm curious as to whether Loki will return and again as he's back in The Avengers it will be interesting to see where they could go with him after that. If new villains are coming in then I'd like to see some more mythical monsters to again open up the fantasy elements. For more traditional villains I think The Enchantress and Scourge (sp?) The Executioner are a good shout.

What I liked about Thor was if you didn't know it was supposed to be a Superhero film or anything about the Marvel Universe, you could watch it just as an 80s Fantasy film throwback. A large part of that was due to all the awesome Asgard Realm and Family Stuff.

So, I would like to see more of that, rather than Thor Flying in to same a bus full of children falling from a bridge type of stuff.

"I put no stock in religion. By the word 'religion', I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called 'The Will of God'. Holiness is in right action and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves."

I doubt Branagh will be back to replace Jenkins - his split with Marvel was over scheduling and I expect they're still trying to stick to their planned release date which is probably what caused the split to begin with...although he is serving the film in a producer capacity similar to Jon Favreau being an exec producer on The Avengers.

I think they'll either go back to one of the other finalists like Brian Kirk or have another left field choice. Doubt Vaughn would be anywhere near this as he'd want to do his own thing and I believe Marvel will want to try and keep continuity with their other films so it's the same "shared universe". Vaughn's Thor sounded great but considering he and Marvel parted because they apparently changed their minds about the direction once The Avengers plan was launched I can't see he'd come on board unless it was his vision for the film.

Considering they hired Jenkins I don't think anyone's going to guess the replacement as no-one saw her coming originally. Sounds amicable though so maybe she'll end up doing something else for Marvel.